Semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device that includes a first die pad, an adhesive, and a second die pad fixed to the top surface of the first die pad via the adhesive. The second die pad includes a body portion and a protrusion portion provided on a side surface of the body portion. A semiconductor chip is fixed to a top surface of the second die pad, and a lead is electrically connected to the semiconductor chip. The semiconductor device further includes a package material that covers the first die pad, the second die pad, the semiconductor chip, and the lead. The first die pad is substantially as thick as the lead.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/252,915, filed Aug. 31, 2016 which claims the benefit of and priorityto Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-037102, filed Feb. 29, 2016, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to a semiconductor device.

BACKGROUND

In a semiconductor device including a die pad as a mounting portion of asemiconductor chip, in which the semiconductor chip and the die pad arecovered with a package material, it is important to discharge a Jouleheat generated by a current flowing into the semiconductor chipefficiently to the outside of the semiconductor device.

As an approach for achieving a good heat radiation property, the die padmade of metal, serving as a heat radiating plate as well as a mountingportion, may be enlarged in a horizontal direction, to reduce thethermal resistance of the die pad. This approach, however, isdisadvantageous in that it enlarges the size of the semiconductor devicein the horizontal direction, making the die pad less compact.

As another approach for achieving a good heat radiation property, thedie pad made of metal may be thickened to reduce the thermal resistanceof the die pad. This approach, however, is not practical because microfabrication of a thick metal plate is difficult.

SUMMARY

In some embodiments according to one aspect, a semiconductor deviceincludes a first die pad, an adhesive, and a second die pad fixed to thetop surface of the first die pad via the adhesive. The second die padincludes a body portion and a protrusion portion provided on a sidesurface of the body portion. A semiconductor chip is fixed to a topsurface of the second die pad, and a lead is electrically connected tothe semiconductor chip. The semiconductor device further includes apackage material that covers the first die pad, the second die pad, thesemiconductor chip, and the lead. The first die pad is substantially asthick as the lead.

In some embodiments according to another aspect, a method ofmanufacturing a semiconductor device includes providing a lead frameincluding a first die pad and a plurality of leads. The method furtherincludes affixing a second die pad on a top surface of the first diepad, the second die pad including a body portion and a protrusionportion extending from a side surface of the body portion. The methodfurther includes affixing a semiconductor chip to a top surface of thesecond die pad, electrically connecting the semiconductor chip and theleads, and covering the lead frame, the second die pad, and thesemiconductor chip with a package material.

Other aspects and embodiments of the disclosure are also encompassed.The foregoing summary and the following detailed description are notmeant to restrict the disclosure to any particular embodiment but aremerely meant to describe some embodiments of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a top view schematically showing a semiconductor deviceaccording to a first embodiment.

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor device takenalong a dashed line X-X′ in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1C is a bottom view schematically showing the semiconductor deviceaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a second die pad.

FIG. 3A is a top view for describing a method of manufacturing thesecond die pad.

FIG. 3B is a top view for describing the method of manufacturing thesecond die pad.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view for describing the method ofmanufacturing the second die pad.

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view depicting a method of manufacturingthe semiconductor device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view depicting a method of manufacturingthe semiconductor device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view depicting a method of manufacturingthe semiconductor device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5D is a cross-sectional view depicting a method of manufacturingthe semiconductor device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5E is a cross-sectional view depicting a method of manufacturingthe semiconductor device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5F is a cross-sectional view depicting a method of manufacturingthe semiconductor device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is across-sectional view of a semiconductor device according to asecond embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a second die pad.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view depicting a method ofmanufacturing the second die pad.

FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor deviceaccording to another embodiment.

FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor deviceaccording to another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, according to some embodiments, the devices and methodsdescribed herein may provide a semiconductor device with a good heatradiation property.

Some embodiments of a semiconductor device can include a first die padhaving a top surface, and a second die pad fixed to the top surface ofthe first die pad via an adhesive. The second die pad can include a bodyportion having at least one side surface, and a protrusion portionprovided on the at least one side surface of the body portion. Asemiconductor chip can be fixed to a top surface of the second die pad,and a lead can be electrically connected to the semiconductor chip. Thesemiconductor device can further include a package material that coversat least a portion of the first die pad, at least a portion of thesecond die pad, at least a portion of the semiconductor chip, and atleast a portion of the lead. The first die pad can be substantially asthick as the lead.

Hereinafter, the semiconductor device according to various embodimentswill be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1A is a top view schematically showing a semiconductor deviceaccording to the first embodiment. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view ofthe semiconductor device taken along a dashed line X-X′ in FIG. 1A. FIG.1C is a bottom view schematically showing the semiconductor deviceaccording to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, a semiconductor device 10 according tothe first embodiment includes a semiconductor chip 11 and a packagematerial 12 covering the semiconductor chip 11.

The semiconductor chip 11 may be a semiconductor device capable ofhandling a large electric power, such as a gallium nitride-field effecttransistor (“GaN-FET”) device that can amplify the power of a highfrequency signal.

The semiconductor chip 11 is mounted on a die pad portion 13. The diepad portion 13 can serve as the mounting portion of the semiconductorchip 11 and simultaneously can serve as a heat radiating plate fordissipating Joule heat generated in the semiconductor chip 11.

The die pad portion 13 includes a first die pad 131 and a second die pad132 fixed on the top surface of the first die pad 131.

The first die pad 131 is a rectangular plate formed of, for example, ametal material having superior thermal conductivity. The metal mayinclude copper (Cu), or may include a copper alloy, or may includeanother appropriate metal or alloy. The first die pad 131 can beprocessed together with a plurality of leads 14, as described below. Inthe depicted embodiment, a thickness of the first die pad 131 issubstantially the same as, or equal to, a thickness of the leads 14,namely the first die pad 131 has substantially the same thickness as theleads 14. The thickness may be a thickness consistent with microfabrication of the first die pad 131 and leads 14 (for example, thethickness may be about 0.2 millimeters (“mm”)). In the description ofsome embodiments, when referring to two values or characteristics asbeing substantially the same or equal, the terms can refer to a firstvalue or characteristic being precisely the same or equal to a secondvalue or characteristic, as well as cases where the first value orcharacteristic is within a range of variation of less than or equal to±5% of the second value or characteristic, such as less than or equal to±4%, less than or equal to ±3%, less than or equal to ±2%, or less thanor equal to ±1%.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the first die pad 131 is provided with or defines acutout portion 131 a. The cutout portion 131 a can be formed by cuttingout a portion of a side surface of the first die pad 131, or by cuttingout a portion of a bottom surface of the first die pad 131. If a crackoccurs in the interface between the first die pad 131 and a packagematerial 12, the cutout portion 131 a can suppress the crack fromexpanding inwardly in the semiconductor device 10, and thus improves thereliability of the semiconductor device 10.

The second die pad 132 is fixed on the top surface of the first die pad131. The second die pad 132 can be made of a metal material having asuperior thermal conductivity such as Cu or another appropriate metal oralloy, similarly to the first die pad 131. The first die pad 131 and thesecond die pad 132 can be made of a same metal material, or can be madeof different metal materials.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the second die pad 132.Hereinafter, the second die pad 132 will be described with reference toFIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second die pad 132 includes a body portion 132 aand at least one protrusion portion 132 b provided on a side surface ofthe body portion 132 a. The body portion 132 a can be formed of, forexample, a metal, and may be in a rectangular plate shape. A pluralityof protrusion portions 132 b can be provided on the four side surfacesof the body portion 132 a, and protrude away from the side surfaces. Allthe protrusion portions 132 b can be integrally formed with the bodyportion 132 a.

In the depicted embodiment, a thickness of at least one of theprotrusion portions 132 b can be substantially equal to a thickness ofthe body portion 132 a, namely the protrusion portions 132 b aresubstantially as thick as the body portion 132 a. In some embodiments,the thickness of each of the protrusion portions 132 b is substantiallyequal to the thickness of the body portion 132 a. In such embodiments,there is substantially no step between the bottom surface of the bodyportion 132 a and the bottom surface of each of the protrusion portions132 b and the both are arranged within the same plane.

Referring back to FIG. 1B, in the depicted embodiment, an area of thebottom surface of the second die pad 132 can be less than an area of thetop surface of the first die pad 131. In the embodiment, the area of thebottom surface of the second die pad 132 means the sum of the area ofthe bottom surface of the body portion 132 a and the area of the bottomsurfaces of the plurality of protrusion portions 132 b. In the depictedembodiment, the second die pad 132 does not protrude beyond the firstdie pad 131 in the horizontal direction.

The second die pad 132 configured as above is fixed to the top surfaceof the first die pad 131, for example, via an adhesive 15. The adhesive15 can be made of, for example, a silver (Ag) paste or anotherconductive paste.

In the depicted embodiment, the second die pad 132 includes theplurality of protrusion portions 132 b. The protrusion portions 132 bcan suppress the adhesive 15 from rising or creeping up the second diepad 132. As a result, more of a surface of the second die pad 132 may beexposed, in that it is not covered by the adhesive 15, and an adhesiveproperty between the second die pad 132 and the package material 12 canbe improved, hence improving the reliability of the semiconductor device10. The above reason will be described below.

Consider a case where a second die pad formed exclusively of a bodyportion having the rectangular plate shape is fixed to the top surfaceof a first die pad with an adhesive. When there is an air layer betweenthe second die pad and the first die pad, the thermal resistance betweenthe second die pad and the first die pad rises. Therefore, a sufficientamount of adhesive is generally used in order to prevent formation of anair layer between the second die pad and the first die pad.

However, when such amount of adhesive is used, the adhesive may risealong the side surface of the second die pad and further up to the topsurface of the second die pad. The adhesive further expands also in thecuring process of curing the adhesive. Thus, a part of the side surfaceand the top surface of the second die pad is covered with the adhesive.

Here, as the adhesive, an Ag paste having a high thermal conductivitycan be used and, as the package material, an epoxy resin generallycontaining a silica filler can be used; however, the adhesive propertybetween these two materials may be poor.

In the case of using these general materials, when a part of the sidesurface and the top surface of the second die pad is covered by theadhesive, the second die pad is not well adhered to the packagematerial. Rather, the package material is in contact with the adhesivewhich does not adhere well to the same package material. As a result,exfoliation occurs at the interface between the adhesive and the packagematerial, which can reduce the reliability of the semiconductor device.

On the contrary, for the semiconductor device 10 according to theembodiment depicted in FIG. 1B, when the second die pad 132 includes theplurality of protrusion portions 132 b, the adhesive 15 expands to thebottom surface of the protrusion portions 132 b, which can suppress theadhesive 15 from rising along the side surfaces of the body portion 132a and the side surfaces of the protrusion portions 132 b. Therefore, aninterfacial area between the adhesive 15 and the package material 12 canbe reduced and an adhered area of the second die pad 132 and the packagematerial 12 can be enlarged, hence improving the reliability of thesemiconductor device 10.

When the plurality of protrusion portions 132 b are provided on each ofthe side surfaces of the body portion 132 a, the adhesive 15 is furtherimpeded from rising along the side surface of the body portion 132 abetween the adjacent protrusion portions 132 b. Therefore, in someembodiments, it is desirable that each of the side surfaces of the bodyportion 132 a is provided with the plurality of protrusion portions 132b.

In some embodiments, the second die pad 132 is thicker than at least thefirst die pad 131. By making the second die pad 132 thicker, theadhesive 15 can be suppressed from rising along the side surfaces to thetop surface of the second die pad 132. Further, the first die pad 131and the second die pad 132 can increase the volume of the whole die padportion 13, thereby reducing an overall thermal resistance of the diepad portion 13.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1B, the semiconductor chip 11 ismounted on the die pad portion 13 which includes the first die pad 131and the second die pad 132 described above. The semiconductor chip 11 ismounted on the die pad portion 13, for example, with an adhesive 16 suchas an Ag paste having a high thermal conductivity (FIG. 1B). Theadhesive 16 and the adhesive 15 can include a same material, or caninclude different materials.

The semiconductor device 10 according to the first embodiment depictedin FIG. 1B is provided with a plurality of leads 14 having a thickness(for example, about 0.2 mm) suitable for micro fabrication.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1C, the plurality of leads 14 include aplurality of first leads 141 that are electrically independent of thefirst die pad 131, and a plurality of second leads 142 that areconnected to drawing lines 17 extending from the first die pad 131.Drawing lines 17 may be considered to be a part of the first die pad131, or may be integrally formed with the first die pad 131, or may beconsidered to be a part of the second leads 142, or may be integrallyformed with the second leads 142.

The first leads 141 can be external input terminals for supplyingsignals and power to the semiconductor chip 11, or can be externaloutput terminals for outputting signals supplied by the semiconductorchip 11 to the outside of the semiconductor device 10, or both.

The second leads 142 can be ground terminals for grounding the first diepad 131.

As shown in FIG. 1B, each of the leads 14 includes a cutout portion 14a. The cutout portions 14 a can be formed by partially cutting out theside surface and the bottom surface in a similar manner to the first diepad 131. In other embodiments, a subset or none of the leads 14 includea cutout portion 14 a. If a crack occurs in an interface between thelead 14 and the package material 12, the cutout portion 14 a cansuppress the crack from expanding inwardly in the semiconductor device10, and thus can improve the reliability of the semiconductor device 10.

The leads 14 are arranged around the first die pad 131 so as to surroundthe first die pad 131, as shown in FIG. 1C. The leads 14 are eachelectrically connected to the semiconductor chip 11 through wires 18.The wire 18 can be a metal conductive wire formed of, for example, gold(Au) or Cu.

In the semiconductor device 10 according to the first embodiment, thefirst die pad 131, the second die pad 132, the semiconductor chip 11,the leads 14, and the wires 18 are covered with the package material 12.The package material 12 covers the above-mentioned components but leavesa bottom surface of the first die pad 131 and bottom surfaces of theleads 14 exposed. The package material 12 can be formed of, for example,epoxy resin including a silica filler.

Next, an embodiment of a method of manufacturing the semiconductordevice 10 will be described. The second die pad 132 can be manufacturedfirst, and the manufactured second die pad 132 can be used tomanufacture the semiconductor device 10. A method of manufacturing thesecond die pad 132 will be firstly described. FIGS. 3A and 3B are topviews for describing the method of manufacturing the second die pad 132.FIG. 4 is a view for describing the method of manufacturing the seconddie pad and depicts a partial cross-sectional view for describing theprocess of cutting a region R of FIG. 3B.

As shown in FIG. 3A, cross-shaped through holes 20 and rectangularthrough holes 21 are alternatively arranged or provided in a metal plate19. The metal plate may include, for example, a metal that is superiorin thermal conductivity such as Cu.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, a portion of the metal plate 19 between thecross-shaped through holes 20 and the rectangular through holes 21 canbe cut off or cut through. As shown in FIG. 4, in the cutting process,the metal plate 19 is sandwiched by metal mold 22 and then a blade 24 isslid along a blade guiding passage 23 formed in the metal mold 22 in adirection indicated by an arrow. Other embodiments may cut through themetal plate 19 in another appropriate manner.

According to the above, the second die pad 132 as shown in FIG. 2 can bemanufactured.

Next, the method of manufacturing the semiconductor device 10 using thethus configured second die pad 132 will be described. FIGS. 5A to 5F arecross-sectional views corresponding to FIG. 1B, for describing themethod of manufacturing the semiconductor device 10 according to thefirst embodiment.

At first, for example, a metal plate formed of a metal material such asCu is processed, and, as shown in FIG. 5A, a lead frame 25 integrallyformed with a plurality of first die pads 131 and a plurality of leads14 is formed. Here, the cutout portions 131 a and 14 a are also formedrespectively in the first die pads 131 and the leads 14.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the adhesive 15 made of the Ag paste is applied tothe top surfaces of the first die pads 131, and the second die pads 132,which have been separately manufactured, are arranged on or affixed tothe top surfaces of the first die pads 131 via the adhesive 15. Then,the adhesive 15 is cured to fix the second die pads 132.

In this process, more adhesive 15 can be applied in order to suppress anair layer from forming between the first die pad 131 and the second diepad 132. In this embodiment, the second die pad 132 has the protrusionportions 132 b, which can suppress the adhesive 15 from rising along theside surfaces of the body portion 132 a and further up to the topsurface of the second die pad 132.

After forming the respective die pad portions 13, as shown in FIG. 5C,the adhesive 16 made of the Ag paste is applied to the top surfaces ofthe die pad portions 13 (the top surfaces of the second die pads 132),the semiconductor chips 11 are arranged on or affixed to the topsurfaces of the die pad portions 13 (the top surfaces of the second diepads 132) via the adhesive 16. Thereafter, the adhesive 16 is cured tofix the semiconductor chips 11. According to this, the semiconductorchips 11 are mounted on the top surfaces of the respective die padportions 13 (the top surfaces of the respective second die pads 132).

As shown in FIG. 5D, the wires 18 made of, for example, Au or Cu areconnected to the semiconductor chips 11 and the leads 14 to electricallyconnect the semiconductor chips 11 and the leads 14.

As shown in FIG. 5E, the lead frame 25, the plurality of semiconductorchips 11, and the plurality of wires 18 are covered with the packagematerial 12 formed of, for example, epoxy resin including a silicafiller, leaving at least a portion of the bottom surface of the leadframe 25 exposed. According to this, the plurality of semiconductordevices 10 integrated with the lead frame 25 and the package material 12are manufactured.

At the end, as shown in FIG. 5F, the package material 12 between thesemiconductor devices 10 and the lead frame 25 between the leads 14 arecut off into the individual integrated semiconductor devices 10.

According to the above, the semiconductor device 10 in the firstembodiment can be manufactured. These steps need not necessarily beperformed in the sequence laid out above, and certain steps may beperformed concurrently or in a different order, as appropriate.

According to the above mentioned first embodiment, with the die padportion 13 formed by the first die pad 131 and the second die pad 132,the semiconductor device 10 having a good heat radiation property can beprovided.

Further, according to the first embodiment, with the protrusion portions132 b provided on the side surfaces of the body portion 132 a of thesecond die pad 132, the adhesive 15, which is used to affix the seconddie pad 132 to the first die pad 131, can be suppressed from covering apart of the side surfaces and the top surface of the second die pad 132.As the result, the adhesion between the second die pad 132 and thepackage material 12 can be improved and the semiconductor device 10superior in the reliability can be provided.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1B, in asemiconductor device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 7 is aperspective view showing a second die pad used for the semiconductordevice according to the second embodiment. Hereinafter, with referenceto FIGS. 6 and 7, the semiconductor device according to the secondembodiment will be described. The top view of the semiconductor deviceaccording to the second embodiment is similar in some ways to the topview depicted in FIG. 1A and the bottom view of the semiconductor deviceaccording to the second embodiment is similar in some ways to the bottomview depicted in FIG. 1C. Therefore, top and bottom view drawingscorresponding to the second embodiment of the semiconductor device areomitted. In the following description, some components of the secondembodiment can be similarly configured as those described above inreference to the first embodiment of the semiconductor device or inreference to the above described manufacturing methods. Those componentsare referred to below by the same reference numbers as they are referredto above, and further description of those components may be omitted inthe below description.

The semiconductor device 30 according to the second embodiment isdifferent from the semiconductor device 10 according to the firstembodiment in the structure of the second die pad 332 forming the diepad portion 33. Hereinafter, the second die pad 332 in the semiconductordevice 30 according to the second embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the semiconductor device 30 according tothe second embodiment, each protrusion portion 332 b of the second diepad 332 is thinner than the rectangular plate shaped body portion 332 a.In other embodiments, one or more, but not all, of the protrusionportions 332 b are thinner than the rectangular plate shaped bodyportion 332 a. The protrusion portions 332 b are provided on each of theside surfaces of the body portion 332 a so as to form steps between thebottom surfaces of the protrusion portions 332 b and the bottom surfaceof the body portion 332 a. In other words, the bottom surfaces of theprotrusion portions 332 b and the bottom surface of the plate shapedbody portion 332 a are not coplanar.

The second embodiment of the semiconductor device 30 can be similar tothe first embodiment of the semiconductor device 10 in some ways, suchas in that the second die pad 332 is formed so as to not protrude fromthe first die pad 131, and the second die pad 332 does not extend beyondthe first die pad 131 in a horizontal direction.

The second die pad 332 and the semiconductor device 30 according to thesecond embodiment can be manufactured in a manner similar to themanufacturing method described above in reference to the firstembodiment.

According to the above mentioned second embodiment of the semiconductordevice 30, similarly to the first embodiment, with the die pad portion33 formed by the first die pad 131 and the second die pad 332, thesemiconductor device 30 having a good heat radiation property can beprovided.

Further, according to the second embodiment, the protrusion portions 332b are provided on the side surfaces of the body portion 332 a of thesecond die pad 332. The protrusion portions 332 b can suppress theadhesive 15 creeping up or advancing up along the side surface of thebody portion 332 a and arriving at the top surface of the second die pad332. As a result, adhesion between the second die pad 332 and thepackage material 12 can be improved and the semiconductor device 30superior in the reliability can be provided.

Further, according to the second embodiment, adhesion between the firstdie pad 131 and the second die pad 332 through the adhesive 15 can beimproved, and the semiconductor device 30 having the improved heatradiation property can be provided. This reason will be described below.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4, fordescribing the method of manufacturing the second die pad 332 in thesemiconductor device 30 according to the second embodiment. As shown inFIG. 8, the second die pad 332 is manufactured by cutting the metalplate 39 that becomes the second die pad 332 with the blade 24, and aportion of metal pushed down by the blade 24 during the cutting processcan remain on and protrude downwardly from a bottom surface of theportion that becomes the protrusion portion 332 b. This downwardlyprotruding portion of the protrusion portion 332 b will be referred toas “burr 39 a”. Here, protruding downwardly may refer to a directionfrom the second die pad 332 toward the first die pad 131. In a casewhere the protrusion portion 332 b is thinner than the body portion 332a, with a step formed between the bottom surface of the protrusionportion 332 b and the bottom surface of the body portion 332 a, such asa case involving the second embodiment of the semiconductor device 30,even when the “burr 39 a” is formed as illustrated, the step cansuppress the burr 39 a from protruding below or beyond the bottomsurface of the body portion 332 a. Therefore, the first die pad 131 andthe second die pad 332 can be adhered to each other via the adhesive 15without a burr 39 a physically interfering. As a result, the heatradiation property of the semiconductor device 30 can be furtherimproved.

In other cases where the protrusion portion 132 b is substantially asthick as the body portion 132 a without any step between the bottomsurface of the protrusion portions 132 b and the bottom surface of thebody portion 132 a, such as cases involving the second die pad 132 inthe semiconductor device 10 according to the first embodiment, the burr39 a formed in the protrusion portion 132 b may protrude below thebottom surface of the body portion 132 a. Therefore, the burr 39 a maybe more prone to disturbing an adhesion between the first die pad 131and the second die pad 132.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the embodiments describedherein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of thepresent disclosure. The accompanying claims and their equivalents areintended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within thescope and spirit of the present disclosure. Moreover, some or all of theabove described embodiments can be combined when implemented.

For example, the semiconductor devices 10 and 30 according to the aboveembodiments are so-called Quad Flat Non-lead package (QFN) typedsemiconductor devices, with a plurality of leads 14 exposed from thebottom surface. However, the structure of the die pad portion 13 havingbeen described in the first embodiment and the structure of the die padportion 33 having been described in the second embodiment may be usedfor so called Quad Flat Package (QFP) typed semiconductor devices 50 and70 with a plurality of leads 54 protruding from lateral or sidesurfaces, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. In FIG. 9A, the same referencenumbers are attached to the same components as the semiconductor device10 according to the first embodiment, and in FIG. 9B, the same referencenumbers are attached to the same components as the semiconductor device30 according to the second embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device comprising: a first diepad; a second die pad comprising a metal and disposed on a top surfaceof the first die pad, the second die pad comprising a body portion and aprotrusion portion provided on a side surface of the body portion; asemiconductor chip disposed on a top surface of the second die pad suchthat the second die pad is disposed between the semiconductor chip andthe first die pad; a lead electrically connected to the semiconductorchip; and a package material that covers the first die pad, the seconddie pad, the semiconductor chip, and at least a portion of the lead,such that the lead protrudes from a lateral surface of the packagematerial, wherein the protrusion portion is disposed on the first diepad, and the first die pad comprises the metal.
 2. The semiconductordevice of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the lead is disposedabove the first die pad.
 3. The semiconductor device of claim 1, whereinthe body portion has a rectangular top surface.
 4. The semiconductordevice of claim 1, wherein the metal is copper.
 5. The semiconductordevice of claim 1, wherein the second die pad comprises a plurality ofprotrusion portions, including the protrusion portion, provided on theside surface of the body portion.
 6. The semiconductor device of claim5, wherein the plurality of protrusion portions are integrally formedwith the body portion.
 7. The semiconductor device of claim 1, whereinthe body portion has a plurality of side surfaces, including the sidesurface, and each of the plurality of side surfaces includes at leastone protrusion portion.
 8. The semiconductor device of claim 7, whereineach of the plurality of side surfaces includes a respective pluralityof protrusion portions.
 9. A method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice, the method comprising: providing a first die pad; disposing asecond die pad comprising a metal on a top surface of the first die pad,the second die pad comprising a body portion and a protrusion portionprovided on a side surface of the body portion; disposing asemiconductor chip on a top surface of the second die pad such that thesecond die pad is disposed between the semiconductor chip and the firstdie pad; electrically connecting a lead and the semiconductor chip; andcovering the first die pad, the second die pad, the semiconductor chip,and at least a portion of the lead with a package material such that thelead protrudes from a lateral surface of the package material, whereinthe second die pad comprises a plurality of protrusion portions,including the protrusion portion, provided on the side surface of thebody portion, and the plurality of protrusion portions of the second diepad are integrally formed with the body portion by a process thatcomprises: providing a plate that defines a plurality of through holes,the through holes defining at least a portion of a periphery of thesecond die pad; and cutting the plate to connect the through holes toform the second die pad.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plate isa metal plate.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the plate comprisescopper.
 12. A semiconductor device comprising: a first die pad defininga cutout portion; a second die pad comprising a metal and disposed on atop surface of the first die pad; a semiconductor chip disposed on a topsurface of the second die pad such that the second die pad is disposedbetween the semiconductor chip and the first die pad; a leadelectrically connected to the semiconductor chip; and a package materialthat covers the first die pad, the second die pad, the semiconductorchip, and at least a portion of the lead, such that the lead protrudesfrom a lateral surface of the package material, wherein the cutoutportion defines a protrusion of the first die pad that extends beyondthe second die pad.
 13. The semiconductor device of claim 12, whereinthe second die pad extends above the cutout portion.
 14. Thesemiconductor device of claim 13, wherein the second die pad comprises abody portion and a protrusion portion, and the body portion of thesecond die pad does not extend above the cutout portion.
 15. Thesemiconductor device of claim 12, wherein at least a portion of the leadis disposed above the first die pad.
 16. The semiconductor device ofclaim 15, wherein the at least a portion of the lead is disposed abovethe cutout portion of the first die pad.